Waiting time in multi-project management: What it is and how to manage it with a software solution

In multi-project environments, one resource can be used for all the projects in the portfolio if they have the specific knowledge required by multiple projects. This approach of sharing resources can save money, but it can be tricky to achieve the desired results. 

One of the biggest mistakes in managing complex multi-project environments where key resources work simultaneously on several projects is overwhelming them with too many tasks. As a result, “ready to start” tasks can’t be started because of the lack of an available resource, which leads to an increase in the waiting time. People start multi-tasking, switching between assignments, and lose their focus. This results in increased set-up times, stress levels, mistakes, the necessity of rework, and missed deadlines. 

Overloaded resources increase waiting times not just for their current project, but also for other projects dependent on their input. This results in delayed timelines across the portfolio. 

Overload, bad multitasking, and waiting time are interconnected phenomena. Bad multitasking also occurs when resources switch between tasks on multiple projects without completing any of them. This may happen because of the absence of clear priorities or an incorrect resource management strategy. Bad multitasking results in inefficiency, increased waiting times, and delayed project completion.

Don’t assign key resources to different projects day by day, cause this significantly prolongs waiting times. A task “in progress” can’t be finished on time, and its execution is prolonged for weeks, e.g., a task of 40 hours becomes a task for 5 weeks. Every resource should finish their task on project A before starting tasks for project B. Focus your resources on one task at a time and let them take another task only after they have completed the current one. Clear priorities between projects and their tasks are the only key. 

One more mistake project managers/schedulers make is assuming that resources will be available when required. But quite often, they are stuck in other projects. The task has to wait for the resource, and this is accumulating over and over again. Experienced project managers know this, so they add some float to their project plans. But the size of the float depends on the resources’ load, which is challenging to measure accurately. 

Now let’s think about how a software solution can help manage the waiting time and minimise it. 

1. Multi-project resource management solutions with AI functionality can measure the expected waiting times thanks to AI-driven predictive analysis that will help you maximize your flow and deliver your multiple projects without stress.

2. They can prioritise projects and tasks and help with correct resource allocation.

3. A multi-project resource management software solution can detect a bottleneck on time (an overloaded resource) and help harmonise the workflow. 

4. It’s a great communication and collaboration platform, as resources see real-time task updates in the system and can start their tasks as soon as the predecessor tasks are completed. 

5. Project and resource managers always have access to historical and real-time data about employees’ capacity and workload, so they can make accurate predictions about the output they’ll produce. 

Therefore, multi-project management is waiting time management with the main goal of making it as short as possible, and a multi-project resource management software solution is a great tool to help with this.